The upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup will be the first ICC event where women will receive the same prize money as their male counterparts, marking a significant milestone in the sport’s history.
This decision was taken at the ICC Annual Conference in July last year, when the ICC Board took the step of reaching its prize money equity target seven years ahead of its schedule of 2030, making cricket the only major team sport to have equal prize money for its men’s and women’s World Cup events.
For the upcoming October 3-20 tournament, which will now be staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the winners of the tournament will receive US$2.34 million, a massive, 134 per cent increase on the $1 million awarded to Australia when they clinched the title in South Africa last year. The runners-up will receive US$1.17 million, up from $500,000, while the two losing semi-finalists will earn US$675,000, up from $210,000, with the overall prize pot totalling US$7,958,080, a massive increase on the US$2.45 million dished out last year.
This move is in line with the ICC’s strategy to prioritise the women’s game and accelerate its growth by 2032. Teams will now receive equal prize money for the equivalent finishing position at comparable events as well as the same amount for winning a match at those events. The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 event prize money is only higher on account of 10 additional teams participating and 32 more matches played.
Each win during the group stages will see teams take home US$31,154, while the six teams who fail to reach the semi-finals will share a pool of US$1.35 million depending on their finishing positions.
In comparison, the equivalent pool for the six teams in 2023 was US$180,000, shared equally. Teams who finish third or fourth in their group will take US$270,000 each, while the teams who finish fifth in their group will both receive US$135,000.
All 10 participating teams are assured of US$112,500.
The increase in prize money for this year's ICC Women’s T20 World Cup comes in line with the prize pot for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, also increasing to US$3.5 million in total.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will get going on October 3, with Bangladesh taking on Scotland at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
There has been a minor change to the schedule for the double-header on Saturday, October 5, in Sharjah, with Australia now facing Sri Lanka in the curtain-raiser and Bangladesh will lock horns with England in the feature encounter. A total of 10 teams will play 23 matches in Dubai and Sharjah to decide the 2024 champions.
Hingst wants Ballon d'Or to move away from 'superstar' preference after Putellas nomination
World Cup winner Ariane Hingst believes the Ballon d'Or Feminin must reconsider who merits the global award in order to do "justice to the great football players".
Former Germany international Hingst, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, could not fathom the reasoning behind including the likes of injury-hit Alexia Putellas as a nominee.
The 30-player list was announced at the start of September, with the winner revealed later in October, as Aitana Bonmati heads to the award ceremony in Paris as the favourite.
Spain's Nations League success saw five of their players nominated, including Bonmati, while the United States women's national team also had as many nominees after their Olympic success in the French capital.
Hingst, winner of FIFA's top international competition in 2003 and 2007, believes the Ballon d'Or needs to look further than "superstars", however.
"It's always interesting to see the nominees of these Ballon d'Ors," Hingst said to Stats Perform. "I think the problem is that you only have the big picture when you have a big tournament going on.
"We had the Olympics, but you see all kinds of sports, so you can't just follow the football, so it's hard to follow.
"What frustrates me the most is, and don't get me wrong, the likes of Alexia Putellas, [she is] a great, great player, but she's been injured for such a long time and is on the list to be the best of this season.
"This can't be right and I don't think that it does justice to the great football players we have out there if Putellas is on this list as well.
"We need to get away from the superstars and just recognise the season that has been played."
Though wanting to stray away from the "superstar" tag for Ballon d'Or selection, Hingst reserved special praise for Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr.
"The interesting part is, that I always had a problem with just this one big superstar because soccer is a team sport and it took me some time to realise that you need those superstars," Hingst added.
"Definitely, Sam Kerr is one of them. It took some time for us in Germany to recognise her as much. She became really big when she was in America, an absolute superstar.
"Now then going to England and it's just tremendous. You need those figures because they are idols. Girls are talking about, 'I want to be Sam Kerr', the boys are talking about her, so you need those big names.
"For example, now you have Alex Morgan just retiring from the women's game. She was one of those superstars as well. [Megan] Rapinoe from America also retired. So who's the next?"
Jordan joins TKR for remainder of 2024 CPL season; Sowter joins Amazon Warriors as temporary replacement for Tahir
England international Chris Jordan will join the Trinbago Knight Riders for the remainder of the 2024 season.
The experienced all-rounder will replace USA international Ali Khan who was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.
Jordan previously represented the Knight Riders in the 2019 edition of the CPL, taking seven wickets in five matches.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have signed leg spinner Nathan Sowter as a temporary replacement for Imran Tahir who is currently recovering from injury and is expected to be unavailable for around 10 days.
England's cautious approach to managing Jofra Archer during Australia ODI Series
England will continue to take a cautious approach to managing Jofra Archer's workload during the upcoming five-match One Day International (ODI) series against Australia. The Barbados-born fast bowler, who has been steadily reintroduced to international cricket following a series of injuries, will be closely monitored throughout the series, according to a report from ESPN Cricinfo.
Archer's return to the international stage has been managed with great care this year. After making his comeback with two T20 Internationals against Pakistan in May, he featured in all eight of England's matches during June's T20 World Cup, where he emerged as their joint-highest wicket-taker. However, since then, his playing time has been carefully limited. He did not play at all for Sussex in the latter half of the T20 Blast's group stages and was given intermittent rest periods during The Hundred, much to the frustration of Southern Brave captain James Vince.
Since The Hundred, Archer has only played two matches: a T20 Blast quarter-final for Sussex and one T20I for England against Australia, where he showcased his skill at the death by clean-bowling Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett in consecutive deliveries. He was rested for the second T20I in Cardiff, and the series decider was washed out by rain in Manchester. Despite these limited appearances, Archer has consistently proven why England has invested heavily in his recovery and return.
Archer is now part of England's 15-man squad for the ODI series against Australia, starting in Nottingham. However, given that he has not played a 50-over game in the last 18 months, he may be rested for one or two matches in the series. England is taking a gradual approach to increasing his workload, especially considering his long-term ambitions to return to red-ball cricket. Archer has not played a first-class match since May 2021 due to his persistent back and elbow issues.
"Jofra will have to be managed throughout the series," England captain Jos Buttler told Sky Sports on Sunday. "He's played a really good stint now of T20 cricket, but obviously you can only bowl four overs in there. There's a jump in intensity getting loads up to taking full part in an ODI - and of course, as an England fan, to push those loads up hopefully to get back into the Test arena as well."
England's interim coach, Marcus Trescothick, echoed Buttler's sentiments, emphasizing that Archer is aware of and comfortable with the long-term plan to manage his workload. "He knows the plan," Trescothick said. "It's discussed long in advance of picking the team on each day. We know what we're doing with him, and where we're going. He's comfortable: he knows what he's doing."
Trescothick further explained that managing Archer's workload is part of a broader strategy, involving coordination between the coaching staff, team directors, and medical personnel. "That's a bigger structure, in terms of what we're trying to do with Jofra. You come into the series knowing what we've got and what we can do with him. That's an agreed plan between the coaches, directors, physios, and all the different people. We'll still be managing him [in the ODIs] - exactly the same thing."
England's cautious approach to Archer's reintegration into international cricket reflects the value they place on his long-term fitness. With Archer having already shown glimpses of his match-winning capabilities, his careful management during the ODI series against Australia aims to ensure he remains a key asset for England in all formats of the game for years to come.
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